The Brief

A funny thing happened on the way to cannabis legalization: illegal pot is still big business.

In the decade since the first states legalized recreational marijuana, about half the country has moved to allow adults to buy regulated pot from authorized sources. But in some states, that's been more theory than practice.

In New York, which legalized marijuana in 2021, retail sales are dominated by ubiquitous illegal "smoke shops," while the state struggles to license legitimate ones. Governor Kathy Hochul has called the transition "a disaster," and has pledged to crack down on the illegal sellers.

In Maine, the congressional delegation last summer asked the Justice Department for help in combatting illegal cannabis producers, who outnumber the state's licensed operations and are believed to be funded in part by Chinese investors.

Wilson Linares, commander of the L.A. County law enforcement division of the California Department of Cannabis Control, heads to the location to serve a search warrant on an unlicensed cannabis store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024.

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And in California, where voters approved recreational pot in 2016, state officials readily acknowledge the industry still operates mostly in the shadows.

"The black market is very pervasive and it's definitely larger than the legal market," says Bill Jones, the head of enforcement for the state's Department of Cannabis Control.

California is the biggest example of the unfulfilled promise of a legitimate cannabis market. Some entrepreneurs blame high taxes and start-up costs for licensed producers and retailers. Smaller operators often have trouble getting access to capital, as the continued federal prohibition on the marijuana business makes it virtually impossible for them to tap into traditional financial services.

Wilson Linares, commander of the L.A. County law enforcement division of the California Dept. of Cannabis Control, shows a sampling of the unlicensed cannabis edibles seized from a black market store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5.

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Jones, however, focuses on what law enforcement did — or rather, what it didn't do — in the first few years after the vote to allow a licensed weed industry.

"Most jurisdictions — local jurisdictions — police or sheriff's departments and district attorney's offices, were very reluctant to do any kind of enforcement on cannabis," he says. "It really created an air of impunity, and the unlicensed activity really skyrocketed."

Washington state, by contrast, maintained law enforcement pressure on illegal marijuana after voters legalized pot in 2012, which gave the new licensed industry time to establish itself.

Passersby watch as California Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with support of Long Beach Law enforcement, serve a search warrant on an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. Like many unlicensed cannabis stores, this one is unmarked and still has signage from a previous business. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for NPR

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In California, the DCC is now trying to close the gap. It gathers anonymous tips about unlicensed cannabis stores, which operate semi-openly out of storefronts that aren't hard to identify.

"They'll occupy buildings [where] the business itself has moved or is out of business," says Wilson Linares, the DCC's head of enforcement for the Los Angeles area. His officers and local police recently raided a shabby storefront in Long Beach. The sign reads "Flores Cabinets," but inside they find cannabis edibles for sale, as well as loose marijuana flowers, sold in jars — a practice called "deli style," prohibited under California's cannabis regulations.

Linares says some of the unlicensed stores are identified with the green cross emblem, borrowed from the medical marijuana movement that predated recreational stores. Another clue, though, is the level of security. The ostensible cabinet store in Long Beach has a heavy metal door and security grates over mirrored windows.

California Department of Cannabis Control detectives lock the premises after serving a search warrant on an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. The penalty for unlicensed cannabis sales is usually a fine, and officers raid the some addresses over and over.

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"One of the biggest things that you can see is the cameras. The building itself is old but the cameras are new. That's a pretty good indicator for us," Linares says.

These raids have ramped up in the last couple of years, especially in Los Angeles. Some of the unlicensed retailers have shifted toward delivery services. But the penalty for getting caught selling unlicensed marijuana is relatively light — usually a $500 fine, unless the person has broken other laws — and Linares says his officers find themselves raiding the same storefronts over and over again.

"These places don't pay taxes, it doesn't help provide services for the people who live around here," Linares says. "And the individuals who run these places, they're often not the best," he says. "Gangs and organized crime."

This doesn't come as much of a surprise to an economist.

Unlicensed cannabis products removed from a black market store in Long Beach, Calif. The products will be destroyed.

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"The black market becomes more competitive," says Tiffanie Perrault, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in Montreal who studies cannabis markets. She says it's understandable why illegal marijuana expanded in California after legalization.

"You remove risk — because you know, it's legal — so you have more consumers," she says. "And at the same time, your black market is going to react strategically by adjusting prices and levels of quality."

The black market in California also benefits from the restrictions on the licensed competitors, such as the fact that only about 40% of local jurisdictions in California permit cannabis stores. That leaves the other 60% to the retailers who don't wait for official approval.

California cannabis buyers are often unaware of — or indifferent to — the legality of the product they buy, but they do notice prices. Depending on the jurisdiction, taxes on licensed pot can reach 38%.

California Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with support of Long Beach Law enforcement serve a search warrant and remove cannabis products at an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024.

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"I got a disposable and some edibles," says Camerin Remmington as he exits an authorized store on the edge of town in Riverside. "It's almost 60 bucks for two items. It's a little more expensive here!"

He says he appreciates the fact that the licensed products are tested for quality.

"You know it is what it is," he says. "You can't go wrong with it!"

But with cannabis, legality for its own sake is not a concern for Remmington. He volunteers that he grew it illegally on his land in the high desert during the post-legalization boom a couple of years ago. He says it made money, until police showed up a year and a half ago.

"We got ticketed for it, for having a couple of processed plants, but they didn't catch the bulk of anything," he says. When he showed up for his court date, the case appeared to be a low priority. "They didn't even know who we were!"

Riverside County Sheriff Department Sergeant Jeremy Parsons collects cannabis clippings and firearms from an unlicensed greenhouse in Perris, CA.

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Those raids are still happening in rural Riverside County. On a Tuesday morning, the sheriff's department's Marijuana Enforcement Team leads a ten-vehicle convoy through the outskirts of the town of Perris. They're following up on a tip about a house hidden at the end of a private drive. The operation commander, Sgt. Jeremy Parsons, comes out to the main road to report that it is, indeed, an illegal grow.

"When we went up to the house we could smell marijuana. We found a greenhouse in the backyard which contained a few hundred small marijuana plants," he says. They also found guns, and they run the names of two people on the site to see if either one is a felon, and not allowed to have a firearm.

"There's not a lot of criminal consequences [for illegally growing marijuana]," Parsons says. But the strategy here is to try to charge growers with other crimes — that's why the convoy of vehicles was so long, as it included people from California Fish and Wildlife, the local water board and even code inspectors.

"That's what we're charging these people with: water contamination, pesticides that are illegal, the fertilizers that are illegal. That's where we're getting people," says Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.

But for Bianco, the bigger issue is legalization itself. He's against it, because he believes it encourages the illegal pot farms in the hills of Riverside County.

"It made it worse. One hundred percent, it made it worse," he says.

A big problem, as he sees it, is exports. California has become a major exporter to states where marijuana is still illegal — and fetches a higher price — despite the warning from the Justice Department back when legalization got started that the states that legalize pot should make sure to keep it inside their borders.

Bianco says the marijuana gold rush has attracted Mexican drug cartels and Asian human smuggling rings.

"I mean, we've had multiple, multiple homicides, we've had multiple kidnappings, we've had multiple reports of human trafficking and rapes and the punishments that go with not doing your job — and it's all related to this," Bianco says.

Back at the DCC, Bill Jones says he thinks legalization was, as he puts it, "imperative," but he also believes it should be possible eventually to curb the black market.

"I think it's doable. But it's going to take a lot of resources and consistent enforcement over years to get our arms around this," Jones says.

Federal prosecutors will pursue fewer charges in their second attempt to convict a man accused of starting the deadly 2025 wildfire that became the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

A jury deadlocked in June over whether to convict Jonathan Rinderknecht of intentionally sparking the fire that killed 12 people as it incinerated much of the Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods in Malibu. Ten out of 12 jurors wanted to acquit him on all three felony charges, leading the judge to declare a mistrial. Federal prosecutors vowed to try again, and a second trial is set to start in the fall.

In a new indictment filed Thursday, prosecutors reduced their case against Rinderknecht to two charges and narrowed their scope.

Prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht used a barbecue lighter on Jan. 1, 2025, to spark a fire that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up Jan. 7 to become the Palisades fire, which destroyed more than 6,800 buildings.

All three charges in the first trial blamed Rinderknecht for setting both the Jan. 1 fire and the Palisades Fire. In the new indictment, only one charge references both fires. The other only focuses on the destruction caused by the first fire.

Rinderknecht’s attorney and a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on the new indictment. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang is holding a status conference for an arraignment on Wednesday.

Throughout the first trial, prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht was the only person in the area when the Jan. 1 fire began and presented a digital trail seeking to show he was motivated by a desire to take revenge on society over rampant economic inequality. They also presented hours of recorded interviews with Rinderknecht in which he offered inconsistent recollections about his movements that night.

Rinderknecht’s attorneys argued that prosecutors lacked direct evidence showing that he started the fire and that they failed to consider fireworks as a potential cause of the first fire.

Saturday marks one year since former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do started his prison term, after pleading guilty to taking bribes to award tax dollars to people who diverted $7.9 million that was supposed to feed needy seniors during the pandemic.

About $4 million has been recovered so far as a result of the criminal probe, which was prompted by an LAist investigation.

What’s happened since Do went to federal lockup? How much money has been recouped for taxpayers? And will he and his family pay back the bribe money? Here’s what we know.

How much longer will Andrew Do be in prison? 

Do was sentenced to five years in federal prison, which he has been serving at United States Penitentiary, Tucson since Aug. 15 of last year.

His original release date was set for four and a quarter years later, in November 2029. Federal prisoners serve 85% of their sentence if they maintain good behavior, under a nationwide law.

In the year since he started his sentence, Do’s prison term has been shortened by an additional five months, with a new release date of mid-June 2029, according to the federal prison system’s website. Federal law allows many prisoners to further reduce their prison time by completing various classes, trainings and programs.

A spokesperson for the prison system declined to answer specific questions about Do’s time at the facility, saying, “We cannot comment on the conditions of confinement of any individual.”

How much money has been recovered?

The amount of taxpayer money recovered so far is a bit less than half of the $7.9 million Do admitted was diverted from tax dollars he awarded to a newly formed group that was supposed to feed needy seniors during the pandemic.

The county alleges even more — at least $13.4 million — was lost due to the scheme, and that much of it was “plundered” into multiple home purchases in Tustin and elsewhere by various alleged co-conspirators.

Of the $3.7 million recovered and returned to the county, the vast majority was from the main nonprofit and business accused of bribing Do. County supervisors are deferring to Do’s successor, Supervisor Janet Nguyen, to recommend how to spend the money.

More than a decade ago, Nguyen was Do’s mentor and boss when she was supervisor the first time and Do was her chief of staff. She helped him win election to her supervisor seat, before the two had a bitter falling out by 2016. The animosity grew so intense that in 2018 the county Republican Party’s then-chair emailed Do, a fellow Republican, to tell him to immediately stop publicly attacking Nguyen, another Republican, as she ran for reelection to the state Senate.

So far, Nguyen’s gotten approval from her fellow county supervisors to allocate $500,000 of the recovered funds to compensate residents affected by multiday evacuations over a Garden Grove chemical tank that was at risk of exploding. Nguyen has said she wants the chemical tank company to reimburse the county for it.

The county is trying to get back more of the stolen tax dollars from the scheme through an ongoing civil lawsuit against Do, his youngest daughter Rhiannon Do and others alleged to have been involved. The trial is set for late 2027.

What’s happened to Andrew Do’s alleged co-conspirators? 

Federal prosecutors have an ongoing criminal case against two of Andrew Do’s alleged co-conspirators: Peter Pham — who led the nonprofit Viet America Society that handled most of the meal money — and Thanh Huong Nguyen, who led the nonprofit Hand to Hand Relief Organization that also handled meal money directed by the former supervisor.

Federal authorities say Peter Pham remains a fugitive, after flying to Taipei in December 2024, a few months after authorities executed a search warrant at his home.

Following several postponements, Nguyen’s trial is scheduled to start in February.

If she’s convicted, federal prosecutors plan to seek restitution payments, according to Ciaran McEvoy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson.

What about Andrew Do’s family?

During the first part of Andrew Do’s scheme, his wife, Cheri Pham was the supervising judge over Orange County’s largest criminal courts, before being promoted to the number-two judge position at the county Superior Court.

As assistant presiding judge, she was on track to become the presiding judge, but in mid-2024 decided not to run amid the controversy swirling around her husband. She now oversees divorce and domestic violence cases in Orange County’s family court, where she started her judicial career. She has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office hired Rhiannon Do as an intern in early 2024 after LAist reported that her father routed millions in unaccounted-for dollars to an organization she was listed as helping lead. The internship ended about three months later. Six months later, the DA’s office and federal prosecutors agreed to a diversion agreement that avoided charges against Rhiannon Do, in exchange for her admitting to mortgage fraud and giving up her ownership of the Tustin home that was purchased as a bribe to her father.

Last year, Rhiannon Do graduated from law school and passed the bar exam that’s required to become an attorney in California. She is not currently listed as an attorney on the state bar’s website. To become an attorney, people must also pass a moral character review that looks, among other things, at any past fraud accusations and cases involving the applicant. That review is confidential.

Ilene Do, Andrew Do’s oldest daughter, previously worked as a customer engagement coordinator at Moulton Niguel Water District and left sometime before late 2024, the water district previously told LAist.

Kate Corrigan, an attorney for Cheri Pham, said she and Cheri Pham do not have any comment. Andrew Do, Rhiannon Do and Ilene Do did not respond to requests for comment from LAist through their attorneys.

Other problems found with Andrew Do’s direction of tax dollars? 

In the wake of the Andrew Do scandal, his former colleagues on the county Board of Supervisors commissioned a series of forensic audit reports by an outside firm into the broader picture of county contract spending during the pandemic.

The first phase, released this March, found Andrew Do and his top aide had a longstanding pattern of misspending public money far beyond the focus of the criminal case that landed the former supervisor in prison.

The audit found Andrew Do and his chief of staff at the time, Chris Wangsaporn, undermined procedures meant to prevent abuse of county money, while using their influence to steer taxpayer contracts to friends, family and businesses — often with little information about the services being provided. Those contractors would then donate to his election campaigns “shortly after,” auditors found.

Among its many findings, the first report found Andrew Do routed hundreds of thousands more dollars than previously reported to companies affiliated with Peter Pham.

The audit’s second phase, released this week, identified more questionable spending directed by Andrew Do, including a $500,000 grant to the company of Frank Jao, a major real estate developer in Little Saigon. That taxpayer contract never required the company, Bridgecreek Realty Investment Corp., to provide supporting documentation for how the money was spent — such as invoices or receipts, according to the audit. In the end, there is no documentation for how more than half of the taxpayer funds were used, it says.

The audit also details numerous times that top county officials did not act after they were alerted to potential irregularities regarding millions in county funds awarded to Viet America Society, the nonprofit connected to Rhiannon Do. The audit details an occasion in which Clayton Chau, the former county healthcare director who asked that money be routed to Rhiannon Do’s clinic at the nonprofit, reprimanded a subordinate for raising concerns.

Chau is now chief medical officer at National Healthcare & Housing Advisors, which operates three healthcare campuses in California.

Two more phases of the audit are underway.

Susan Egan is a trailblazer in the Disney world.

She’s best known as the voice of Megara in "Hercules" and the original Belle in the Broadway version of "Beauty and the Beast."

This weekend, Egan is being honored at the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim as a Disney Legend along with more than a dozen actors, composers and other contributors.

Egan’s relationship with the world of Disney started at a young age. She grew up in Seal Beach, less than an hour away from Disneyland, and says her mother would take her and her siblings to the park on a school day every year.

“It just never occurred to me that you could actually work for that company, that could be what you do for a living,” Egan told LAist “It just seemed like play all the time.”

She was the first actor to play a Disney princess on Broadway in 1994, and said at the time it was a risky decision.

“We really didn't know if it was going to work. In essence, taking a cartoon and bringing it to the live audience, having to change some of the mythology because, you know, we can't be a 10-inch tall teapot. You have to be a full human-sized teapot,” said Egan.

But she says the audience loved the Broadway production as much as they loved the movie.

She went on to voice the sharp-tongued Megara from "Hercules," who she calls a “Disney heroine ahead of her time.”

“Honestly her flaws are what make her so relatable. I hear from a lot of young women ‘Oh Meg, I could relate to Meg.’ I go, ‘Me too. Honestly yeah, string of bad boyfriends, same.'”

Egan has harnessed her love for Disney into her production company, 10th & Main, with producing partner Adam J. Levy. Together they’ve produced Disney Princess: The Concert, which has toured across five continents, the recurring production aboard Disney cruise ships called Broadway Star Series and other programs.

10th & Main is also putting together a show for the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this weekend called Disney Rewind Concerts. Egan says it’s celebrating the Disney movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“ We have the voice of Goofy, Bill Farmer, and Jodi Benson, the voice of Little Mermaid, is in the concert. We've got Disney icon Jim Cummings, who's the voice of 400 Disney characters,” said Egan. It’s happening on Friday and Saturday night and will be streamed on Disney+.

D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event runs this weekend Aug. 14 through Aug. 16 at the Anaheim Convention Center. There will be performances and panels from the cast and producers of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Simpsons, Camp Rock 3 and others.

The 2028 Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles will cost billions to put on, but there are currently no guarantees that any of that business will go to companies or small businesses in the city of Los Angeles.

That's a problem for local officials, who point out that the city of L.A. is the host and financial backer of the Games and should therefore reap the benefits.

Olympic contracts for things like IT services, cleaning and construction for the Games are worth up to $4 billion, according to LA28. L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson filed a motion Wednesday asking the private Olympics organizing committee LA28 to commit to giving some of those contracts to businesses in the city specifically.

The move responds to critiques of LA28's procurement plan, which council members in April warned could end up leaving out the city of Los Angeles entirely.

LA28 says it's aiming to keep 75% of its spending in the Greater L.A. area, and put 25% towards small businesses. Its procurement plan pledges to prioritize "hyperlocal" businesses in the city of L.A., but makes no explicit promises. Instead, it identifies "local" as anywhere in L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Harris-Dawson's motion would direct city staff to request LA28 go further, developing an L.A.-specific spending commitment.

"There is no assurance that Olympic-related spending will meaningfully benefit Los Angeles businesses, workers, and communities in proportion to the City's role as host," the motion reads in part.

The motion still needs to get through council, but there are indications that it will meet an unwilling LA28.

LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told the city council earlier this year that organizers would prioritize city businesses, but that he would not commit to a plan that would limit LA28's financial options.

"If I focus solely, first and foremost, on the city of L.A. for small business, then I am artificially reducing the pool of competition, placing greater risk on the city taxpayers and placing greater risk on the backstop of the city of L.A.," Hoover said.

The motion reflects the latest way city leaders are trying to limit risk and increase rewards for Los Angeles, which is on the hook for a potentially large amount of money if the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics are a financial failure.